Re: 'It's a real deathtrap': Jim Wu, Burnaby NOW, Sept. 24.
I would like to thank Mr. Wu for sharing his concerns with dangerous crosswalk, and to help draw attention to just how poor a job the City of Burnaby has been doing in regard to pedestrian safety. I would also like to encourage others to write in to the local paper and share other unsafe locations.
These safety issues will only get addressed if people start forcing our mayor and council to take action, as they certainly appear to be unwilling to so on their own.
Goring Street and Douglas Road is prime example of an area dangerous for pedestrians. Four large condo developments have sprung up in this area, and yet there is only a patchwork of non-connecting sidewalks. Every time I drive along Goring there are always groups of people walking on the road. A little further up the road, pedestrians from this area are forced to either walk along a mud trail or on the shoulder of Lougheed Highway. Burnaby has approved condo developments, so why are there no sidewalks here to handle the increased population?
Surely the city makes enough money from these large condo developments that money can be used to ensure there is adequate infrastructure in the surrounding areas. Burnaby is already well behind in building of adequate infrastructure such as sidewalks, and with mayor and council's current push for development, this deficit will only get worse.
This leads one to ask some serious questions about Burnaby's plan to deal with large increases in population.
What good is Burnaby's planning department if they can't even seem to figure out the importance of sidewalks? What happens when the massive Brentwood development is complete? We push for "car-free communities" and yet we don't build pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. It simply does not make any sense.
Unless Burnaby believes these towers will mainly be purchased for investment purposes, and not actually lived in, so there's no need for any real infrastructure upgrades. But that's just me being a cynic.
In Coun. Anne Kang's response to Mr. Wu, she appears be saying that Burnaby is developing too fast and that the city has not been able to keep up. Well, if this truly is the issue then there is an easy solution: Slow down major developments until the proper infrastructure is in place. Because right now citizens of Burnaby are paying a heavy price for the developers and the city to make a lot of profit. The current practice of allowing developments and all but ignoring the necessary infrastructure upgrades is not working and will lead to major problems in future.
We regularly hear how the City of Burnaby is taking in millions of dollars from developers on density bonuses, yet it is apparent that Mayor Derek Corrigan and the BCA are more keen on stuffing the city coffers instead of actually using that money to help build the necessary infrastructure.
And it's not just the newly redeveloped areas that are feeling the neglect of Mayor Corrigan's policies. My neighbourhood has been attempting to deal with sidewalks for decades, to no success, and this continues to this very day.
After raising safety concerns with the city about the corner at Burris and Sixth Street, in which vehicle traffic makes a 90-degree turn at an area where Burris Street sidewalk just ends at a ditch. Specifically, I was enquiring as to why the city would not build sidewalks at this location.
To my surprise, city staff informed me that Burnaby has a policy to not building sidewalks along city property and will only do so when it is just an extension of a sidewalk being paid for by property owners. As the city owns all the land on either side of this corner, there are no sidewalks, despite how dangerous the corner is.
Ironically, Burnaby spent a large sum of money to put one of its crosstown bike paths that terminates right at Burris and Sixth. It's a path as large a road, complete with lighting that is better than the entire neighbourhood. Initially this path just terminated at the roadway at Burris and Sixth, but after a large number of complaints, a gravel path was made along Sixth Street so that pedestrians could actually walk to the path.
However, it still leaves people stuck crossing the road right at the 90-degree corner. Most of the foot traffic is students coming from the local bus stop, and they're forced to stand in a ditch, less than an arm's length away from vehicles, waiting till they can cross the road.
Quite honestly, Burnaby has actually made this intersection more dangerous by adding in a bike path. Now pedestrians, cars and bikes are all funnelled into a tight 90-degree corner with poor visibility. It is only a matter of time before someone is serious injured at this location. But despite my best effort, Burnaby continues to dismiss concerns.
In further conversations with the city about my safety concerns, I was advised that Burnaby now charges 8.75 per cent interest on installation of local area improvements, which cover sidewalks. You read that right, 8.75 per cent.
How can Burnaby justify charging citizens 8.75 per cent interest when rates are at near historic lows? Shouldn't Burnaby been actually encouraging local area improvements instead of making them prohibitively expensive?
So perhaps Coun. Kang can shed some light on these problems. Why are the density bonuses collected by Burnaby not being used to enhance the local areas where these towers are being built? Why has the city chosen to charge such a high rate of interest to property owners on local area improvements? Why does the BCA appear to be prioritizing profits over safety of citizens, many of which are just children going to school?
As a suggestion, Burnaby should take a cue from other cities. Home builders in North Vancouver are required to build sidewalks when they are building infill houses. This means that the new construction would start benefiting the local community, and it comes at very little cost to the city.
Or if that's not palatable, how about allowing neighbourhoods to come together and fund sidewalks? Or even just offer low-interest loans for local area improvements. Any of this would go a long way to help building safer communities.
Personally, I find it rather shameful that Burnaby is a city known for its vast financial reserves and yet distinctive lack of sidewalks. I would like to see Burnaby actually use the property taxes and density bonus it collects to address the unsafe conditions pedestrians face in our city. And if Mayor Corrigan and his BCA continue to be unwilling to do so, then it's time to elect someone that actually will.
And just a little something for mayor and council to keep in mind: It does little good to spend $55,0000 on oversized school zone signs when children have to walk on the road dodging cars going 50km/h before they can even make it to the school zone.
Keith Bemister, Burnaby
